Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous dinosaur which they lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago (MYA) in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaurs to live before the great extinction event at the end of the period. Triceratops ''is one of the most not reconigzed dinosauria form animals Bearing a large bony frill and three horns on its large four-legged body, and conjuring similarities with the modern rhinoceros, Triceratops is one of the most recognizable of all dinosaurs and the best known ceratopsid. It shared the landscape with and was preyed upon by the fearsome ''Tyrannosaurus, though it is less certain that the two did battle in the manner often depicted in traditional museum displays and popular images. Individual Triceratops ''are estimated to have reached about 7.9 to 9.0 m (26.0–29.5 ft) in length, 2.9 to 3.0 m (9.5–9.8 ft) in height, and 6.1–12.0 tonnes (13,000–26,000 lb) in weight. The most distinctive feature is their large skull, among the largest of all land animals. The largest known skull (specimen BYU 12183) is estimated to have been 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in length when complete, and could reach almost a third of the length of the entire animal. It bore a single horn on the snout, above the nostrils, and a pair of horns approximately 1 m (3 ft) long, with one above each eye. To the rear of the skull was a relatively short, bony frill, adorned with epoccipitals in some specimens. Most other ceratopsids had large fenestrae in their frills, while those of Triceratops were noticeably solid. The skin of ''Triceratops ''was unusual compared to other dinosaurs. Skin impressions from an as-yet undescribed specimen show that some species may have been covered in bristle-like structures, similar to the more primitive ceratopsian ''Psittacosaurus. Another part of spending their lives was jousting with one another. That's what Triceratops did in the wild. Triceratops o''bviously had jousting tournaments in nature, even during breeding season, and they injured their frills and necks when they fought, thought this is debated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triceratops In 2009, researchers under supervision of Jack Horner argued that Triceratops was actually a juvenile version of ''Torosaurus. The massive frill of Triceratops would grow longer and thinner in time, until it may have had the same holes as seen in Torosaurus (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triceratops#Torosaurus%7CTriceratops#Torosaurus). However, this evidence has yet to be fully accepted by the scientific community. In Prehistoric Park ''T-Rex Returns '')]]A large herd of ''Triceratops was seen visiting a river to drink and feed. Nigel Marven watched them for a short period before leaving to find a Tyrannosaurus rex. Nigel later returned to find that the Triceratops herd was still there but then, a pack of Tyrannosaurus that Nigel was monitoring came. The herd noticed the threat and dispersed in all directions. In the chaos, a baby Triceratops unintentionally ran in front of a Tyrannosaurus and got attacked. An adult Triceratops intervened and stabbed the attacker with its horns. Moments later, the same Tyrannosaurus went to kill a young Triceratops hiding behind some bushes. Nigel managed to lure the Triceratops into the time portal but wasn't able to get the Tyrannosaurus through too. Head keeper Bob Arthur was pleasantly surprised at Nigel bringing back a Triceratops instead of a Tyrannosaurus. Head vet Suzanne McNabb was excited that it was a Triceratops that was the park's first dinosaur. The Triceratops (now named "Theo") was then moved to its enclosure, Triceratops Creek. Later in the episode, Bob noticed that Theo had been acting strangely and was ramming a small tree in his enclosure and alerted Suzanne. When she arrived, she noticed Theo's frill had changed color, and suggested that he was undergoing some testosterone surge. Bob thought of an idea. Later, when Nigel came back from the Cretaceous, Suzanne told him about Theo's change in frill color and aggression. Nigel then compared Theo to a time when he hand-reared a male fox that got aggressive as it matured, and confirms to Suzanne that her earlier speculations were right; Theo has matured. Suddenly, Bob comes in riding his modified tractor made to look like a rival Triceratops, and told Suzanne to open the gates. Nigel hopped in and they enter the Triceratops Creek. Theo constantly charged at the vehicle, taking his aggression out on it. Later, he was able to calm down and started to truly settle in. )]] Between ''A Mammoth Undertaking and The Bug House Between the events of A Mammoth Undertaking and The Bug House, Theo the Triceratops was shown to have settled in peacefully and was completely healthy. ''Supercroc In Supercroc, Theo was not focused on much, but was still doing well. He did not participate in the Mass Break-Out. However, Theo was feeding until he noticed Nigel being chased by Matilda the ''Tyrannosaurus. He then continued feeding. Behind the Scenes *The name 'Theo' was inspired after Nigel's Son, Theo Marven, whose favorite animal is the Triceratops. Trivia *Theo is the first animal to be rescued from extinction in Prehistoric Park. *5 Triceratops appeared in the park in the opening titles even though Nigel never brought more than one back to the park in the show implying that after Supercroc, he got 4 more for Theo. *Originally, a herd of Triceratops were going to be rescued and only one Ornithomimus, but the roles were reversed later on. Errors * Triceratops likely had bristles on its' body in real life, unlike in Prehistoric Park. * Triceratops ''juveniles would of had short, stumpy horns and not the long horns shown in the program.T. rex Returns Gallery *''See also: Images of Triceratops '' ''References External links *Triceratops on Wikipedia Category:Creatures Category:Creatures in the Park Category:Cretaceous Animals Category:Herbivores Category:Creatures in T-Rex Returns Category:Animals Category:Prehistoric Animals Category:Prehistoric Park Animals Category:Ornithischians Category:Dinosaurs Category:Creatures in Supercroc Category:Reptiles Category:Archosaurs Category:Vertebrates